All residences need carbon monoxide alarms

In 2011, any new home needed carbon monoxide, or CO, alarms installed. On January 1, add existing apartments, hotels, and single-family homes to the list.

Spokane Valley Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford suggested installing a CO alarm sooner than that. He said in the winter months some people use the wrong heating devices.

"We've seen that where people have put in barbeques inside their homes and tried to heat their homes with a barbeque either by charcoal briquettes or propane," Clifford said. "That's going to put out carbon monoxide in the home, and that's going to kill people also."

Clifford wanted to remind people CO is a colorless, odorless gas. You can't see it, taste it, or smell it.